US Secretary of State John Kerry has branded “unlawful” the upcoming elections in eastern Ukraine.
During a visit to the Canadian capital Ottawa on Tuesday, Kerry warned Russia and the pro-Russians that any recognition of the election would be “a clear violation” of the Minsk Protocol.
Kerry’s remarks came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would recognize the results of the elections in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
“We expect the elections will go ahead as agreed, and we will of course recognize the results,” Lavrov said, adding, the vote “will be important to legitimize the authorities there.”
The announcement also infuriated Kiev, saying it undermines attempts to end the war in the country.
On September 5, a truce agreement was signed by representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) in Minsk, Belarus, in an effort to halt the war in eastern Ukraine.
On Sunday, Ukraine’s pro-Western and nationalist parties won the country’s parliamentary elections after refusal by millions of people in the restive east to take part in the vote.
Tensions between Russia and the West heightened after the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, formerly part of Ukrainian territory, joined the Russian Federation following a referendum in March.
Relations were strained further after Ukraine launched military operations in mid-April to silence pro-Russia protests in the country’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the east.
The US and the EU have accused Russia of destabilizing Ukraine and have slapped a number of sanctions against Russian and pro-Russia figures. Moscow, however, rejects the accusation.